Tufted Loosestrife, Swamp Loosestrife, Lysimachia thyrsiflora L., Minnesota native wildflowers, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

(Swamp Loosestrife). An erect perennial of swamps, bogs and marshes that grows from 1 to 2-1/2 feet tall. The leaves are lance-like, opposite in pairs, from 2 to 4" long. The yellow flowers are small, to 1/3" wide, and appear densely in a rounded raceme on stalks from the middle leaf axils. Petals can be five or six and the ball-like appearance of the raceme is partially caused by the stamens which are twice as long as the linear flower petals. The genus name is from the Greek for either king Lysimachus or from lysis meaning "a release from" and mache is for "strife". The legend is that Lysimachus, king of Sicily, was walking through a field. A bull chased him. He grabbed a loosestrife plant, waved it in front of the bull and it calmed the bull. In general then, both the common and the generic name refers to a supposed power to sooth animals or "loose" them of their "strife".

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Tufted Loosestrife	Lysimachia thyrsiflora L.	Primrose (Primulaceae)	Woodland	Late Spring to Early Summer
Other names and notes	(Swamp Loosestrife). An erect perennial of swamps, bogs and marshes that grows from 1 to 2-1/2 feet tall. The leaves are lance-like, opposite in pairs, from 2 to 4" long. The yellow flowers are small, to 1/3" wide, and appear densely in a rounded raceme on stalks from the middle leaf axils. Petals can be five or six and the ball-like appearance of the raceme is partially caused by the stamens which are twice as long as the linear flower petals. The genus name is from the Greek for either king Lysimachus or from lysis meaning "a release from" and mache is for "strife". The legend is that Lysimachus, king of Sicily, was walking through a field. A bull chased him. He grabbed a loosestrife plant, waved it in front of the bull and it calmed the bull. In general then, both the common and the generic name refers to a supposed power to sooth animals or "loose" them of their "strife".